The Lace Guild CIO
Charity No.. 1195559
Trustees, Annual Report &
Statement of Financial Activity
for the period l January 2023 to 31 December 2023

The Lace Guild CIO
Trustees, Annual Report &
Statement of Financial Activity
for the period l January 2023 to 31 December 2023
Contents
l Reference and Administration Details
1.1 Charity Name & Registration
1.2 Charity's Address
1.3 Names of the Trustee5 Who Manage the Charity
1.4 Names of Advisors & Senior Members of Staff
1.5 Bank
1.6 Independent Examiner
2 Structure, Governance & Management
2.1 Type of Governing Document
2.2 Charitable Objects
2.3 Trustee Selection Methods
3 Activities, Achievements & Performance
3.1 Statutory Declaration
3.2 Overview IExecutive Summaryl
3.3 Activities, Achievements & Performance
3.4 How the Public Have Benelitted
3.5 Trustee Development
3.6 Looking Ahead
4 Financial Review
4.1 Details of Any Funds Materially in Deficit
4.2 Policy on Reserves
4.3 Principal Sources of Funding and Outgoings
4.4 Remuneration of Trustees
4.5 Financial Status
4.6 Statutory Statements on Liabilities
5 Statement of Financial Activity
5.1 Independent Examiner's Report on the Accounts
5.2 The Lace Guild CIO Receipts and Payments Report 3111212023
5.3 Notes to the Accounts
li
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The Lace Guild CIO
Trustees Annual Report & Statement of Financial Activity
for the period l January 2023 to 31 December 2023
Reference and Administration Details
1.1 Charity Name & Registration
The Lace Guild CIO
The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, registration no.. 1195559, registered with the
Charity Commission on 19 August 2021. The charity also uses a working name- The Lace Guild.
The charity is registered with HM Revenue & Customs.
1.2 Charity's Address
The Hollies, 53 Audnam, Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY8 4AE
e-mail: hollies@laceguild.org
webslte: www. laceguild.org
1.3 Names of the Trustees Who Manage the Charity
Name
Office
Chair
Appointed
19 August 2021
19 August 2021
19 August 2021
19 ALJgust 2021
19 August 2021
19 August 2021
19 August 2021
4 May 2022
15 October 2022
Resigned
Denise Smith
Christopher Evans
Tessa Whitlock
Secretary
Treasurer
Phil Baldwin
Amanda Binns
Andrea Gaskell
Liz Muncey
Christine Cooper
Lizzie Foulon
Alison Hopper-Bishop
15 February 2023
1.4 Names of Advisors & Senior Members of Staff
None
1.5 Bank
National Westminster Bank, 141 High Street, Stourbridge, West Midlands. DY8 IDW
1.6 Independent Examiner
Pandora lane Hancock Bsc ACA, 2 Elias Close, Lichlield, Staffordshire. WS14 9TX
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2 Structure, Governance & Management
2.1 Type of Governing Document
Constitution - based on the Charity Commission's model governing document for Association
Charitable Incorporated Organisations, ie.. where the charity has a wider membership, including
voting members other than the charity trustees.
2.2 Charitable Objects
lal To educate the public in the craft of lacemaking, its history and use.
Ibl To promote a high standard of lacemaking.
Icl Through education, to encourage design, development and professional presentation of lace.
2.3 Trustee Selection Methods
There must be at least three charity trustees. The maximum number of trustees is 12.
In accordance with the Constitution, Trustees are appointed or re-appointed for a term of three
years by a resolution passed at an annual general meeting of the members of the CIO.
In appointing Trustees due consideration is given to ensuring that the Trustees have, between them,
the ski115 and experience necessary to manage the charity effectively and in accordance with charity
law.
3 Activities, Achievements & Performance
3.1 Statutory Declaration
The Trustees conlirm that they have paid due regard to the guidance issued by the Charity
Commission on public benefit in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
3.2 Overview (Executive Summary)
During this period, The Lace Guild CIO has continued to work towards reestablishing all the kev
activities of The Lace Guild following the disruption of Covid-19 pandemic. Bringing focus on what
the security of the governance change to CIO brings and the opportunity for reflecting on what The
Lace Guild is and how best it can serve its members and support the wider lacemaking community.
3.3 Activities, Achievements & Performance
The establishment of the new Lace Guild CIO and with the organisation's milestone Soth anniversary
on the horizon, the 'Modernisation' of The Lace Guild has been the focus of 2023. With the Guild's
new legal status comes the questions of identity and purpose. How can the Guild use its current
resources and influence to grow opportunities and develop what it has to offer the community.
With the arrival of further legacies from our very generous members, Strategic Planning has become
a major focus of the trustees to safeguard the future of The Lace Guild. The conversion of our
governance model affords an opportunity for reflection and where necessary a renaissance for
forging a more 5UStainable organisation. Each meeting of the Board of Trustees now begins with a
short visioning session to help create a framework for future planning. During the work of the last
year, we have identified a set of 'Values' to help us better understand the Guild. We have reviewed
the Guild's mission and vision statements to make sure they are inclusive and relevant to the people
we want to reach. The Board also approved a 'Gifts in Wills, policy to support how the Guild
manages and uses legacies and bequests.
The future and digital access often go hand in hand and 2023 saw the Guild's lirst fully hybrid AGM
and lace event, where members that USU311y struggle to access this were able to engage in decision
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The Lace Guild CIO.. Trustees, Annual Report & Financial Statements

making and discussions about the future of this hub of creativity. Our fantastic webmaster continues
to develop the website to make it more accessible for everyone and so it can truly reflect the great
resource that The Lace Guild is. The website is slowly becoming the centre of Guild activity, the
website offers more opportunity to keep the membership up to date with the latest information
without being bound to the magazine cycle of publishing dates. A 'member's area, has been created
and continues to be developed to increase access to information and content for the membership to
connect with. One of the13test digital initiatives has been the new Member'coffee and Chat, where
members from all over the world can connect with one another via Zoom, to improve our
communication with and within the membership, share ideas and make lace together.
During 2023, our EdLJcation & Development subcommittee also received a makeover, changing its
name to the Learning & Engagement subcommittee to better focus the goals of the committee and
to encourage our new visionary approach. This has afforded us an opportunity to engage with the
new generation of lace makers through a partnership with the 'London Lace Club,, whose founders
Amelia and Lauren have joined the new subcommittee to help steer us in the right direction.
Another exciting new partnership has been the textile 5tudent5 of the King Edward Vl college in
Stourbridge, with lace 'enrichment' classes being taught by Mary Coleman. Our annu31 Lace Guild
Summer School at The Gables Hotel, Bristol, which was successful and very well attended.
The final part of 2023 saw our Guild attempting to utilise the space at the headquarters in
Stourbridge by trying to establish some weekend courses to provide more access to a wider variety
of lace teachers for some non-residential short courses that are more affordable for members. The
'LG Short Courses, Programme started in September 2023 and runs until July 2024, although it has
had a rocky start. we are hopeful that thi5 can become as successful as our Summer Schools.
In 2023 we produced a new publication 'Tiles and Beyond, which featured some of the many lace
tiles that were produced from the Guild's 'Raising the Roof Tiles, Project which supported the cost of
replacing the roof at the headquarter5. These tiles were brought together as a touring display that
was shown at the AGM in June and is available for lace groups to borrow for events in the future.
The Guild also continued its programme of making older out-of-print publications available through
republishinE them as e-books to make them available to new lace makers.
Following the work on the roof in the previous year, 2023 saw the focus moving to the inside of the
building, with the help of a WMMD project to support museums with energy efficiency. We were
able to get new ceilings and new energy efficient lighting installed in the staff offices. We also
installed an accessible rail to the rear of the building to improve access for our members.
3.4 How the Public Have Benefitted
During 2023 the public continued to have access to our exhibition Space free of charge to see our 4
planned exhibitions of the year. Those Exhibitions included 'C3n you tell the difference? Recent
Acquisitions,, 'Eastern European Laces, and Machine Laces. These displayed lace from a full range of
disciplines, countries and time periods, these were well received by visitors.
We have also circulated our"Artefact of the month" emails, a monthly email about an item in our
collection. We have continued to attend textile shows at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham
to promote the craft of lace making as well as other local events across the UK. A lot of these events
involve demonstrating the heritage craft and introducing young people to the possibilities of lace as
a skillful art form and as a vehicle for maintaining yOLJr positive mental health.
During this period we have continued to produce new publications to support those that already
make lace and might want to take up the craft.
Alongside our usual openings the curatorial team offer the public quarterly opportunities to have
their lace in their personal collections identified by a lace expert. We continue to provide free access
to our collections for students and researchers, who have used our library, archive and museum
collections to further their personal development and contributed to postgraduate and doctoral
study both in the UK and overseas.
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Through the generosity of our members and their donations of lacemaking equipment we are able
to help new and established latemakers access both free and reasonably priced resources to keep
this heritage craft alive and accessible for generations to come.
3.5 Trustee Development
Trustees are encouraged to participate in appropriate development opportunities. The Charity's
status as a museum allows trustees to access training provided by West Midlands Museum
Development IWMMDI. The Chair is a member ofWMMD Trustee Network.
Recruitment has been a priority of 2023, focusing primarily on tinding a suitable successor to Tessa
Whitlock, OLJr retiring Treasurer. At the AGM in 2024 we will have the pleasure to introduce our new
treasurer Bryan Obaji. This work will continue as part of the work of the Board's Strategic Planning
Working Party that began with a visioning Session at the weekend of the AGM in lune 2023. Part of
the remit of this new working party is to develop a clearer structure for Trustees by carrying out a
'skills' audit of existing trustees, ident'fying the skill gaps and redefining roles for each of the 12
trustee positions and recruiting to the remaining trustee roles. Alongside developing an effective
induction process for all future trustees.
3.6 Looking Ahead
Following the mandate from the membership to hold another in-person AGM this year, we will be
returning to the Warwick Conference Centre for our second hybrid AGM and Lace Exchange event.
Later this year, as part of the historic Glass Quarter we will take part in the final International
Festival of Glass before it moves on, this will include an exhibition of Glass from local collections that
is usually kept in storage and not on permanent display alongside13ce from OLJr collection.
Looking further ahead, preparations continue as we plan our next Triennial Competition for 2025
with the theme of 'Treasure' and following on how we might include as many people as possible in
our Golden Anniversary celebrations in 2026.
4 Financial Review
4.1 Details of Any Funds Materially in Deficit
The Charity has no funds which are materially in deficit.
4.2 Policy on Reserves
The trustees aim to maintain free reserves in unrestricted funds at a level which equates to
approximately six months of unrestricted charitable expenditure. The trustees consider that this
level will provide sufficient funds to continue the work of The Lace Guild CIO and to ensure that
support and governance costs are covered.
Unrestricted reserves will be invested in low risk instruments to earn the best rate of return
available. These funds will be used to support the aims and objectives of The Lace Guild CIO as
stated in the Constitution.
Enough unrestricted funds to cover two month's short term cash flow requirements will be kept in
current accounts.
Funds equal to the total amount of restricted funds will be kept in a separate account. These funds
will be held in an interest bearing account until required.
4.3 Principal Sources of Funding and Outgoings
Last year we made a profit of £158,914.72. Sadly, some of our members have died, but very kindly
left The Lace Guild bequests in their wills. Last year we received some more of those fund5. So, after
taking out the legacy money that we've received we made an operating loss of £9,321.49. This is
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£1,970.37 less than we'd forecast. Despite rising costs and inflation The Lace Guild has kept
operating and has tried to look forward. We all now have less disposable income to spend on our
hobbies, which has impacted the Lace Guild's income. All things considered, The Lace Guild has
done well this last year.
The loss has been caused mainly by rising costs and our membership reducing by about 4%. The
reduction in our membership has resulted in our subscriptions being down by about 3.62Y¢ and the
amount we received from Gift Aid also being down by about 3.4%.
The increase in membership fees that was approved at the last AGM will take effect this year, so that
will help mitigate some of this Ios5.
Despite the amazing work of our staff, general sales and sale of second-hand goods has slightly
decreased year on year by 4.39%.1'm sure this will improve this year with all the initiatives that our
Sales Assistant is puthng in place.
The salaries have increased this year due to the increased contractual hours and the staff have
needed their annual pay rise.
The increase in Courses in the Receipts and Payments report between 2022 and 2023, is as a result
of the timing differentes caused by Spring School and the profit that Summer School made in 2023.
The AGM event made a small overall loss. It was our first event at that venue. The AGM was a hybrid
event. We tried to give as many people as possible the opportunity to join the AGM. We are hoping
that more people will attend this year.
This year our interest income has increased almost four-fold due to the legacy funds that we have
received.
4.4 Remuneration of Trustees
All Trustees act in a voluntary capacity and receive no remuneration or other material benefits from
their services to the Charity.
Out-of-pocket expenses necessarily and reasonably incurred by Trustees in promoting the purposes
of the Charity are reimbursed at cost.
4.5 Financial Status
Following the transfer of assets from the unincorporated charity the trustees expect that the
charity's resources from unrestricted and unrestricted donations will be more than sufficient to
meet it5 Outgoings for at least next year.
All the indications are that this will remain the case for the foreseeable future.
4.6 Statutory Statements on Liabilities
The Trustees declare that..
The charity has given no guarantees where potential liability under the guarantee is outstanding
at the date of this statement leg.. any outstanding/onEoing contract or legal undertaking to buy
or provide specific services),.
The charity has no debt outstanding at the date of this statement which 15 owed by the CIO and
which is secured by an express charge on any assets of the CIO leg.. a mortgage on propertv
owned by the charity),.
Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf,
Denise Smith Ichairl
Date: 17 April 2024
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5 Statement of Financial Activity
5.1 Independent Examiner's Report on the Accounts
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Lace Guild CIO for the
year ended 31st December 2023.
Responsibilities and Basls of Report
As the charity trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts
in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 20111"the Act") as amended by
the Charities Act 2022.
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under s. 145 of the
2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions
given by the Charity Commission under s. 1451515llbl of the Act.
Independent Examiner's Statement
I have completed rny examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my
attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material
respect..
111 Accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of
the Act,.
or
121 The accounts do not accord with those records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matter5 in connection with the
examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper
understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed Pandora Hancock ACA
2 Elias Close
Lichfield
Staffs
WS14 9TX
6th February 2024
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The Lace Guild CIO
Receipts & Payments report FY 31112123
2023
2022
Income
Subscriptions
Donations
Assessments
Competitions
General Sales
Courses
AGM
Magazine Advertising
Other Income
Grants & HLF
Interest
Gift Aid
59,933
174.350
62,182
76,823
825
606
34,426
26,704
258
31,589
34,903
2,912
2,641
7,104
3,238
7,501
4,984
1,335
323,733
218,877
Expenditure
Purchases
Assessments
Courses
AGM
Competition
Magazine
Grants & HLF
Bursaries & Travel Grant
Library
Collection
FairslShows/Exhibitions
2,312
3.828
553
21,616
38,750
3,746
912
29,631
30,299
140
1,056
411
529
514
450
77,242
57,504
Sales Promotion
772
390
Overheads
Committee Expenses
Salaries
Property Costs
Office Costs
Professional Fees
Bank Charyes
245
717
51,156
5,804
25,663
300
44,099
5,160
27,756
2,716
Net Profitl(Loss):
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5.2.1 The Lace Guild CIO Statement of Assets and Liabilities FY 3111212023
Tangible Assets
2023
Freehold Property
£150,000
Cornpulers, Fixtures and Fillings £4,653
Telephone system
2022
£150,000
£5,474
Cornmenls
Totsl
£155,743
£156,564
Current Assets
Stock
DeblDrs
£9,721
£0
£9,721
£9,929
£0
£9,929
As per stock lake as al 31112123
Total
Cash al Bank
Petty Cashlshow Floats
Total Assets
£318,724
£220
£484,408
£167,337
£0
£333,830
Creditors
Creditors
Totsl Liabilities
£0
£0
£0
£0
Net Current Assets
£484 408
£333 830
Restricted Funds
Ann Woodward Bursary
Chihuahua Bursary
Denis Hornsby Bursary
Lilian Young Bursary
Pauline Milne Donation
Building and Repairs Fund
Archives Fund
Roof Fund
Knuslon Hall Library
Legacy funds
Total Restricted Funds
£1,056
£1,230
£200
£850
£133
£0
£0
£2,715
£1,327
£1,046
£1,230
£200
£850
£133
£1,078
£55
£4,823 Balance lo be used for other repair work
£0
£29 926
5.2.2 Disposition of Funds
The Charity has no designated or restricted funds as at 3111212023.
5.2.3 Approval of the Board of Trustees
The Trustees declare that they have approved the above Annual Report & Statement of Financial
Activity.
Signed on behalf of the Trustees
Tessa Whitlock, Treasurer
Date: 14 February 2024
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5.3 Notes to the Accounts
al Accounting Policies
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 Section
133, using the Receipts and Payment5 basis available to small charities and the charity'5 own Simple
AccoLJnts Spreadsheet.
It should be noted that as the accounts have been prepared using the receipts and payments basis,
they cannot show a true and fair view of the accounts making it unnecessary to comply with
accounting standards concerned with the presentation of financial information. The accounts will
not include any amount for depreciation since only cash items are included in the accounts.
bl The Lace Collection
The Lace Collection (which is a heritage asset). has catalogued information relating to 18,576 items
as at the end of December 2023. The items in The Ponsonby collection aren't included in the total
number of items in our collection as yet, as they need to be acquisitioned. The accessioning and
cataloguing process ha5 slowed down through the year. Thi5 is probably due to fewer hands being
available to help with the process. There have also been more calls for volunteers doing outside
visits, shows, and talks. Included in the museum are a number of items/small collections on loan to
it, where it is entrusted for five years at a time. The items in the collection cover.. costume,.
embroidery; ephemera,. equipment; lace,. materials and patterns. The items in the collection date
from the late 16th century to current times. The origin of the majority of the lace is the U.K and
European areas. A small minority is from other parts of the world that have people who are
lacemakers, such as India, Malta, and U.S. etc. The majority of items are either in excellent or good
condition. The museum is to Accreditation Standard, which means the items should be stored and
displayed to their criteria. The Museum also has its own set of standards which includes written
Policies and Procedures with regard to the Acquisition and Disposal from the collection.
cl Library Collection
Since the start of The Lace Guild, we have had a small lending library (which is a heritage asset) for
the use of the membership and as we have grown, the breadth and complexity has increased to
reflect the demand of the lacemaker5 and textile enthusiasts that use this valuable resource. The
current collection held in the library is made up of approximately 10,500 items. The majority of the
collection is made up of rouEhly 5,000 published volumes, 4,500 published magazines and 1,000
items of audio-visual material such as CDS, DVDS, cassettes, photographs and slides. Of the
published volumes, about half is made up of the wide variety of books detailing modern and
traditional bobbin lace techniques from across the world and include laces such as Bedfordshire,
Bucks Point, Honiton, Milanese, Torchon. Downton, Mixed and Braid laces, and includes many that
are written in foreign languages. The rest of the volumes cover modern and tradition31 non-bobbin
laces such as Needlelace, Tathng, Knithng, Crochet and Decorated Net techniques, as well as
collection of books detailing the history of lace and fashion. Included in this summary are around
250 reference volumes which are too rare to be included in the lending library, which are made up
of first and early editions which date from the late 19th and early 20th century. The published
magazine holdings include complete sets of magazines from similar organisations in other countries
across the world, in a variety of languages, as well as magazines from the late 19th and early 20th
century that offer a very different presentation of a wide variety of lace and needle crafts. The
majority of our modern published magazines are acquired through an exchange programme with
their publishers and these include notable magazines such as Australian Lace, De Faden, Fuselliamo,
Kant, Kniplebrevet, Krajka, La Dentelle and Scothsh Lace, to name a few. These are an important
part of the lending library and make sure our holdings stay up to date with the latest developments
in the lacemaking world. New books and digital media continue to be added to the library. making it
one of the most comprehensive lace resources in the UK.
dl The Archives
As the collections have grown through the generous donations of members the necessity of
expanding the collection parameters to include an archive collection (which is a heritage asset)
occurred naturally. This is made up of items which have been acquired over the last 20 years and
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since 2017 with the help of specialist archive volunteers the archive has begun to be collated and
documented so that the research value of the historical information held in The Lace Guild
collection can be realised and it is now starting to attract academic researchers from across the
countrv.
The collection currently stands at approximately 3,500 items, and is la￿elY made up of an array of
photographic material including prints, slide5 and original negatives. This includes a growing
collection of 'histories' of lacemaking centres of industry in the UK and relevant information about
the lacemakers, designers, teachers and authors that have contributed to the rich history of lace
making in the UK. Alongside these we hold a considerable collection of supporknng archive material
such as unpublished correspondence, published manuscripts, collections of scrapbooks of
ephemera and newspaper cutknngs, as well as documents concerning the activities of The Lace
Guild. other local and national lace groups, Suppliers and collectors of lace.
el Reimbursement of Out-of-Pocket Expenses
Out-of-pocket expenses necessarily, reasonably and incidentally incurred by Trustees in the course
of their duties as Trustees are reimbursed in accordance with the prevailing Financial Policies &
Procedures.
fl Salaries & Professional Fees
No trustee receives any payments for the services they provide to the charity.
In the current linancial year the charity employed four staff and five external contractors.
gl Fixed Assets
The fixed assets of The Lace Guild were transferred to The Lace Guild CIO on the Ilth March 2022.
The charity has purchased a label printer and an overhead camera in this current financial year. It
has not disposed of any fixed assets in the current financial year,.
h) Creditors
Cheques issued prior to the end of the linancial year but not appearing in the end of the financial
year bank statements are only reported as outstanding creditors if they remain unpresented at the
time of producing the financial statements.
il Rounding Discrepancies
All amounts are recorded to the penny, but in these accounts are shown as digitally rounded to the
nearest pound. This can occasionally result in a total apparently not being the sum of its constituent
amounts. All individual amounts, and their totals, are nevertheless correct.
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